Facial Scarification on Ifè Brass Heads:
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Date
2015-12-01
Authors
Akande, A. O.
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Abstract
The discovery of the Ifè heads in the early 20th century stirred the global art
community. By the mid 20th century, the metal heads had become a sensation and
source of pride to the Yorùbá nation. Prominent striation on some of the heads
however raised many questions as the pattern could not be appropriated into any
existing Yorùbá scarification pattern or stylistic philosophy. This paper examines
these scarification patterns and explores a possible origin for it outside the Yorùbá
nation. The central question of this study is - if the patterns are not indigenous to
the Ifè Yorùbá people, who then do the heads truly represent and where are they
from? Through formal examination of the pattern on the heads and against the
backdrop of historical data, correlation analysis with several facial scarification
patterns within a predefined study area was carried out. The findings suggest that
the scarified heads are not a representation of any proto-Yorùbá group or practise
and that the source of the stylistic inspiration for the facial design is not Yoruba.
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Keywords
Scarification , Yoruba , Facial identity , Ifè heads , Brass
Citation
Akande, A. O. (2015). Facial Scarification on Ife Brass Heads: An Alternative Hypothesis and Its Implications. Journal of Anthropology and Archaeology, 3(2), 21-36.